1969 - whole lotta love - Tommy Cashwell - Unsquare Dance - Isley Brothers - Vic Waters - Soul City - Time is tight - the horse - chicken shack

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256### Tommy’s Beach Club/ The Beach Club band contained individuals with different styles but Tommy always “got over ”with his audience. There was live music everywhere in the area. Tommy was a new attraction in South Florida. He had a reputation from playing in Orlando for many years.

Tommy’s Beach Club had a large stage with room for two drum sets. The club was a prime location on the beach with large glass windows surrounding each side. The owner of the property had an apartment in the building, which he shared with his dog. Tommy was an exceptional bandleader. He also managed the bartenders and staff. Though the band seemed musically atypical to me, Tommy could sell anything to the audience with his personality and musical talent.

257### Off Season Rate/ After gathering her belongings in Rainsville, Alabama, Bonita joined me in Riviera Beach. We were able to rent an off- season rate studio apartment close to the beach. It was timely to have a “house gig” with a decent weekly salary.

258### Comfort Zone – June 1969/ I would never be comfortable working in Tommy’s band. I was paranoid I’d be fired. My musical identity continued to be blurred, out of perspective. For the past year, I was playing progressive music by Hendrix, Cream, Traffic, Sly, Steppenwolf, and Led Zeppelin with my Mississippi friends.

Now, I was back playing “nightclub music” with older musicians uninterested in those groups or their music.

259### Led Zeppelin/ In the Beach Club, the jukebox played “Whole Lotta Love” from Led Zeppelin Two. It was loud and radical. The other musicians in the band didn’t care for it.

(Hearing that tune blasting through “jukebox” speakers was really “a trip” so-to speak) This was what I would have preferred to be playing instead of “bar-crowd” material.

260### The Sideman/ I was nineteen and felt out of touch, at odds, alienated from my superficial youth. I was still a hippie radical type with an adventurous spirit. It was difficult to blend in as a “sideman” and maintain my identity, in the employment of Tommy’s band. Maybe it was time to conform in order to survive and remain employed in my current musical environment.

261### Tommy Cashwell/ Playing with Tommy was a unique musical experience. Though I’d played some of the material before, it was different observing and backing him up as a sideman. On the bandstand, Tommy could really create a groove within the band that pulled the audience into his world. He was an extremely gifted entertainer.

Of the material he played, I enjoyed the early Rock & Roll renditions of Little Richard, Ray Charles and Tommy’s versions of various Soul and R&B covers. The group worked up “It’s Your Thing” a cool new groove. Tommy also had a repertoire of instrumentals that he played on Wurlitzer piano or his Hammond M 100. These included: You Can’t Sit Down, Chicken Shack & Comin Home Baby. If the band learned a current pop tune it was only because the audience wanted to hear it.

Tommy was very old school and set in his ways. Though Tommy’s Beach House gig provided a steady income, I continued to be insecure with my musical situation. By summer of 1969, I would move to another gig playing in a Hammond Organ, Saxophone & Flute, Drum-set trio. The group wasn’t a traditional jazz trio like Jimmy Smith with Wes Montgomery. It challenged me to “tone down” my sound, play quieter, with more dynamics.

#31 $$$ Gig - July – 1969 The Pink Pussy Cat

West Palm Beach, FL/ The club was called the Pink Pussy Cat. I would cut my hair discard my hippie garb, for a swinging 60s, sophisticated set. It was different being a provider for Bonita and myself. The music we played at the Pink Pussy Cat could be interesting. The trio played Take 5 and Unsquare Dance by Dave Brubeck.

My first attempts at 5/4 and 7/4 time signatures. I became aware of Tony Williams from the Miles in the Sky album. The trio also played “Jazz Standards and Ballads” that required me to learn to play with smaller sticks and brushes. This was a new different music environment. My band mates, Chris and Bob were very educational and patient with my drumming transition from Hard Rock to Soft Jazz. Chris, the organ player bought me a pair of brushes. He also had a can of snare drum head spray, it added more life to the batter head for brush playing. The interior of The Pink Pussy Cat was all red and pink on the walls. It was a unique club.

I’ve flashed back and remembered a visit there in 1967 with The Ken Lathe Group. We were looking for a gig. I was 17. It was cool to see 20 some-things in that environment. Things change.

262### Honeymoon for 2/ that summer Bonita and myself got married at the Pink Pussy Cat. It was very informal with a few family members and musician friends. I played my regular gig that night at the club.

263### Paiste Formula 602/ This period was the beginning of my search for the perfect ride cymbal. My playing was raw without technique. I was beginning to hear musical sound, especially from the ride cymbal. I bought an original Paiste 22 inch Formula 602 that I loved!

A dancing trumpet player 360 spinning his horn on the bandstand cracked it. His trumpet bell hit the cymbal’s edge. It’s beautiful sound was ruined.

264### The Rakestraw’s/ In August 1969, my friends John and Linda Rakestraw & family arrived in Riviera Beach. He’d play in a group with Bob Justice, David Ison and Chuck Parrish. Hurricane Camille had destroyed their Biloxi home. They lost everything and moved into the efficiency motel where we lived in various units with other musicians, partners or wives.

265### Exit-Pink Pussy Cat/ Thinking my “Pink Pussy Cat” gig would last, Bonita and myself were becoming slightly more domestic. I went to the gig each night, Bonita cooked, we grocery shopped and did things together. ‘A couple in love.’ We also learned that Bonita was expecting with our to be named daughter Denecia. Still teenagers it was very challenging to realize we would be parents with responsibility. Bonita accepted our changing lifestyle with much less anxiety than me. Her spirit was always more adventurous. As a husband and to be father I would exert my efforts towards becoming more conservative and serious, working to provide enough money for our survival. Security as a musician is rare. My Pink Pussy Cat gig ended! The club folded due to a lack of owner finances.

#32 $$$ Gig - November – 1969 Riviera Beach, FL. Johnny’s Back Door/ Fortunately, I was offered another gig. The band was another Hammond organ trio with electric guitar and drums. The club was Johnny’s Back Door. It was a small club on US1. For a trio the group had a big sound. We played Top 40 music but there was a raw, unique, distorted edge to this group. I liked the sound in the room. It was Smokey and dark with dim lighting and red walls. The sound was absorbed by the thick red shag-carpet. We could play unusually loud without any complaints. Again, the Hammond organ player played bass pedals or left hand organ bass. The club owner was a former jazz drummer.

He was always very considerate, friendly and liked the way I played. He owned another club in town where Bonita would eventually work as a bartender.

266### Illusion/ Our financial situation wasn’t great but we were paying our bills and starting to save a little money for domestic security. At the time I thought I could be more successful in the music business. Groups had recording contracts and hit records. With the right connections sometimes a group would succeed in the music business. I was a decent drummer and always looked towards improvement. Evaluating your art or music with the reality of the business can be tricky. It may unknowingly be a very self -indulgent illusion.

(Especially, when you’re young)

267### Vic Waters & Donny Gregory/ One night the Back Doors owner told me I had a long distance phone call. It was from a musician friend I met while playing in Tommy Cashwell’s band at the Beach Club. His name was Billy Wilfong. He was a saxophone player from Arkansas. I returned the call to him in Fort Lauderdale. He told me about a new group that was forming. They wanted me to join the group. The band would include two vocalist horns and rhythm section. Vic Waters was one of the vocalist and the bandleader. Vic had recently left “The Entertainers” a very popular and successful group from Saint Petersburg. I’d heard about this band and it’s reputation.

They had played the top clubs in Las Vegas and around the United States. Don Gregory was the other singer/front man. The other members were from Memphis and Little Rock. The band would have a three-week gig in Fort Lauderdale, at a club called Soul City. The group would perform at Soul City, open at The Blue Room in Saint Petersburg in three weeks. Again, I would need to make a decision to leave my steady gig at Johnny’s Back Door, for the unknown. Bonita was always encouraging towards my traveling road gig offers.

I was very cautious as we were expecting Baby Denecia. I didn’t want to leave her alone. In casual discussions with my current band-mates they encouraged me to stay. The club owner also wanted me to stay.

He reinforced the situation telling me I had a steady gig that would last. His current trio had been there for three years. As a former musician himself, he hinted that this new group was a risk. His wisdom made me more cautious. Bonita thought it could be a good move. I would accept the offer. —Another questionable decision on my part—

#33 $$$ Gig - 1969 - Soul City Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Vic Waters – Don Gregory/ Bonita drove me with my drum-set in our 1959 VW cargo van to Fort Lauderdale. I met everyone at the motel where they stayed. We rehearsed to begin playing that night. I only knew Billy and Eddie Nichols the trumpet player. Playing bass was Stanley Cecil. The guitarist was Lonnie Lawson. They were from Memphis and seasoned in the blues.

Andy played Hammond organ. He had been playing with Otis Redding. Rumor was he had a drinking problem and could forget to show up for the gig. It never happened with this band. He played superb. We played several Booker T and the MG’s tunes. Time Is Tight, Hip Hug-Her and Green Onions. Stanley and Lonnie were groove machines. As long as it was the blues, Lonnie was fine and played great. Drift from the blues and he would not be fine. Stanley could also play Hammond organ in case Andy was a no-show. There was a five-piece horn section—three Saxes and two trumpets. One brass player doubled on valve trombone.

This was my first time to play in a band with a horn section. Some of the tunes we played were Soul Finger by the Bar-Kay’s and The Horse. Don Gregory and Vic Waters shared the vocal duties. Donnie covered tunes like Rainy Night In Georgia by Brook Benton. He also sang tunes by Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions. Donnie was a country boy from Arkansas. On the bandstand Donnie’s deep strong singing voice and personality gained attention and respect.